Free as a Bird
by RedVampyre
Summary: It's Stevie Rae's birthday, and Rephaim's having trouble with presents, her family, and just Stevie Rae in general. Was going to be a oneshot but I've decided it'll have a few chapters. T because I'm unsure about what's gonna happen in the next chapters. And the title might seem weird just now, but read chapter one and you'll get it. Takes place at no particular time, either.


**Hey lads;) I started writing this a few days ago, before Hidden was out, which I started reading as soon as it arrived on my Kindle at midnight yesterday and I finished it by last night, even though I promised myself I would only read one chapter a day. It was just too addictive, but it wasn't as good as the last books, or am I the only one who thinks that? But anyway, this story has no spoilers and takes place anytime during the whole crazy Neferet mess. It will have two or three chapters, and I'll try not to take too long updating!**

**So this is just a cute little story about Stevie Rae's birthday. It's just a random idea that came into my head a few days ago when I was at the mall, there was a shop with bracelets and necklaces and they all had different meanings and a quote/saying on the box, there was a necklace with the meaning "Free", the charm was a silver bird and the saying was "Free as a bird" and I'd been reading Destined on my Kindle on the train and this idea popped into my head and I thought, why not? **

**And I don't own HoN, I don't even own the necklace because it was too expensive **

**Rephaim POV**

I stood in Zoey and Stark's room, wondering what on earth Stark was laughing at.

"Why is that so hilarious? It's a real problem?" This just made him laugh more, leaving me speechless and even more worried about what I was going to get Stevie Rae for her birthday, which just happened to be tomorrow. Fantastic.

Stark was attempting to calm down, but wasn't succeeding. He was still breathless from all the laughter and his words were jumbled up and some were incomprehensible.

"Well, aha, you're screwed man!" He managed one sentence with a straight face, but burst out laughing again two seconds later.

"Okay, I'll go ask Damien then..." I slowly backed out of the room and down the hall to Damien. He was always more... _understanding_ than Stark, although I was absolutely sure that it had something to do with the fact Damien was a lot more trusting than most people, and Stark had natural Warrior instincts, and that meant no one, especially not someone that had been on the side of Darkness for centuries, was completely trustworthy to him. I had considered going to Damien before Stark, I knew Zoey's Guardian wasn't my biggest fan, but I presumed he would, for once, have a better solution to this problem than Damien.

I wasn't sure whether to enter the room without making my presence known first, but while I was wondering what to do, the blanket door swung open, revealing a confused looking Damien.

"What's going on?" He asked. He seemed worried, like my presence indicated that there was a problem, a bigger problem than the one I currently had.

"Nothing exactly terrible," I told him. "Can I come in?" He nodded and moved to let me through. His small room was neat and tidy, nothing out of place, no dust or cobwebs. His clothes were neatly folded and his bed freshly made. Even his school notes were in perfect order. How long did he spend cleaning every day?

As if he'd read my mind, he shrugged and said "It's a thing I have. Everything needs to be perfect. Most people just laugh at me. But Jack didn't, he was always the same." I turned to look at him, and seeing his eyes glassy with tears and a sad smile on his face, I almost forgot what I was here for. I had no idea what to do, but Damien ended the awkward silence by grinning through his sadness and cheerily asking me why I was there.

"Well, with everything going on, I completely forgot Stevie Rae's birthday," Damien's eyes widened in shock. "And I only remembered yesterday when she asked if I was coming with her for a meal tomorrow night to meet her family, and I need to get her present quickly but I don't know what to get her and I need some help!" I spoke quickly, feeling extremely guilty for what I'd done. Damien was laughing, but not as much as Stark. Was this really funny? Not to me.

"Okay, well, that is a huge problem you've got there, but luckily you have my expert guidance for gifts. Get ready, we're going to the mall!" He sounded really excited about shopping. I wasn't exactly thrilled, but when it came to Stevie Rae, I would do anything. I was walking down the hall when I heard Damien calling to me.

"And by the way, have fun meeting her family! Three big brothers and her dad, they might just kill you for taking their girl! Stick to her mom, she'll love you!" He winked at me, and I was left wondering just how bad her male family members would be...

!"£$%^&*()

I walked into the room I shared with Stevie Rae, not expecting her to be back from her day, sorry, _night_, out with Zoey, but there she was, sitting on the bed reading a book, curled up in a blanket. She looked so beautiful I half considered calling of my "shopping trip" and just staying here with her, but I knew I couldn't do that. She looked up and smiled, closing her book and untangling her legs from the blanket.

"I was looking for you, but Stark said not to. I don't know why, and he wouldn't stop laughing. I think he was high..." She looked puzzled as she wrapped her arms round my waist. "I missed you." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me, and I almost forgot every problem I'd ever had. I loved her more than anything, more than any stupid birthday present could ever say. I hadn't seen her for over 24 hours, and even though he'd been in his raven form for almost 12 of those hours, it was still painful spending so much time way from her.

"He wasn't high, trust me," I laughed at her face, "It's a long story, but I really need to go." I kissed her again, but she pulled back, confused.

"But isn't it still, like, 3 hours 'til sunrise? Or is my internal clock wrong?" I shook my head.

"You're right, but I'm just going somewhere with Damien," I noticed the hurt on her face, even though she was trying to hide it. I wrapped my arms around her again. "You know I'd rather stay here, but I'll be back soon." I couldn't make out what she was saying as her face was buried in my shirt, but when I stepped back I noticed she was smiling.

"Nah, it's fine. I have you too much anyway. Have fun with Damien." She was still grinning at me. I was kissing her goodbye when Damien burst into the room.

"Okay, I know you love her and everything, but get off her face for two minutes and come with me already!" Stevie Rae went bright red and picked up her book again, signalling me to leave. I walked along the hall with Damien and out of the depot.

"Gosh, I was wondering what was taking you so long, I should have guessed," He chuckled, "It's always the quiet ones..." We got in the car and drove down in silence for a minute, but Damien didn't last long without speaking.

"So, remind me again how you forgot your girlfriend's birthday?" He looked at me accusingly, and I shrugged.

"I didn't mean to, I knew it was soon, it just slipped my mind," It sounded bad when I spoke the words out loud, but it was the truth.

"I get it, there's a lot going on, you forget things. But at least you've still got some time." I nodded, relieved that Damien didn't think I was a horrible person. I looked straight at him.

"I really do love her. I might be an idiot, but I do." Damien stopped in the mall's parking lot and looked me in the eye.

"I'm not doubting that, but I'm not gonna disagree that you're an idiot." He winked at me and got out of the car. We walked into the mall, Damien showing a lot more interest in the stalls and displays than I was.

"What are you planning on getting her?" He asked. I honestly had no idea, that was why I brought Damien.

"I'm not sure. Something nice..." Damien laughed.

"Really? I thought you were gonna get her something horrible!" My face must have said it all, because Damien just laughed.

"Sarcasm, Rephaim."

"Oh..."

It seemed like we'd been there forever, looked at everything, been in every shop. I had almost given up by the time we walked into the last store. It was a jewellery shop, but the window display didn't look promising. I was turning round to leave, but Damien had gone in, looking fascinated by all of the trinkets. I reluctantly followed, I'd had enough of shopping today and I just wanted to go back to Stevie Rae, but Damien had the car keys. I was looking through the glass display cabinets when Damien shouted over to me. He was standing next to one of the spinning display shelves. Coloured boxes, some open, some closed, spun in a slow circle, and I had to admit, this looked like it could be it. On every box there was a word written in bold black, and one of those meaningful quotes that everyone seemed to love and pretend to follow. There was also a small image on each box, and that was what convinced me. I carefully picked the small white and blue box off the shelf, lifting the lid and examining the silver necklace inside. Damien was holding a box similar to mine, except in pink, which he kept trying to hand me, but I was already reaching for my wallet.

"Can I help you?" I heard a shop assistant ask, in that overly nice fake voice they all used, just to disguise the fact they hated their job. I shook my head.

"No, I've chosen what I'm buying," She looked shocked, apparently nobody could choose their own things these days, and she started talking again.

"Well, can I see? Just for some advice?" She smiled sweetly at me, but she had a mean glint in her eyes, "Who's it for?" I laughed. This explanation could take a while.

"My...girlfriend." Truthfully, she was so much more than that, but better to not overload this poor girl's head with things she couldn't possibly comprehend. Her face fell.

"Oh, well then, wouldn't this one be better?" She angrily grabbed Damien's box out of his hands and showed it to me. It was a "love" necklace, the little drawing was a heart and underneath that it said in a smaller, curlier font "Love is all you need". I shook my head. That one was common, something every girl in the world probably had. The one I had found was a lot more relevant to our relationship. I put the lid back on the pink box and handed it back to the shop assistant.

"No, I'm buying this." She nodded and snatched the box from me, taking it over to the counter and putting it in a gift bag. I paid and Damien and I walked back to the car.

"Ooh, seemed like some had a crush on you in there!" He laughed, "Did you see her face when you told her you had a girlfriend? Wow, it's hilarious." He stopped laughing for a minute and stood in front of me, blocking my path. "I never got to see what you bought? Can I see, or is this one of those "wait until I give it to Stevie Rae" things?" He looked genuinely interested, so I pulled the little box out of the silver gift bag and handed it to him.

"Ohmygosh she will LOVE that!" He was laughing a lot, "That is so coincidental! Bet you're glad you followed me into that shop, huh?" He handed it back, and I couldn't help myself from smiling.

"Very glad!" He chuckled.

"So are you going to give her it a dinner with her family or at her party at the depot afterwards?" I considered that for a second, but the decision was easy.

"Neither." Damien looked at me, puzzled.

"When, then?"

"I'm going to give it to her in private. It's nothing to do with anyone else. So I'll do it when it's just us." A look of realization crossed his face.

"Makes sense, I suppose. But seriously, it's a great gift!" I smiled at that. I looked at the box again, and read the black lettering again: Free as a bird. It was exactly what I had been looking for, even though I hadn't been aware of it, just like I hadn't known I'd always been looking for Stevie Rae. I must have been smiling again, because Damien burst out laughing.

"Honestly Rephaim, calm down over the necklace!" I looked at him, and he winked at me. He knew exactly what I was smiling about, and for once, I actually felt like I had a friend in the group. That was a nice thought.

**So guys, what do ya think? Is it crap? Or do you like it? If I can find a picture of the necklace, I'll post a link on my profile, but it was a tiny little shop in a mall, it wasn't a big brand or anything, but I'll look! **

**There'll be a couple more chapters of this, by the way. It would have been a oneshot, but I couldn't get all of the stuff into one chapter, even this is over 2000 words. So I'm back to school on Monday, but I'll try get this done before then! If not, someone just find me and hit me! **

**So, review guys? You know I love reviews:D**


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